What are Nested Alternate Barcodes and How to use them?

Scanning of product barcodes at a checkout counter is a common sight. Barcodes make checkout experience faster and serve as unique product identifiers. While every product has a unique barcode, there are certain products that are also sold in various packs of different quantities. For example, in bakery retail eggs are sold in packs of dozen, or six eggs. Similarly, book stores can sell stationery items like pencils in various packs, etc.

To keep your checkout experience efficient you should be able to easily identify and select various packs of the same product while selling. How do you do this?

Alternate Nested Barcode is the answer. Nested barcode feature helps you assign different barcodes to various packs of the same product while keeping them attached to the main product.

Let’s learn how to create and use Alternate Nested Barcodes in Candela.

Configuring Candela for Nested Alternate Barcode

To be able to use the nested barcode feature, first go to System Configuration>Product/STR and mark the checkbox ‘Enable Nested Alternate Barcode.’ Now you will have access to a new tab on the Product Definition screen called Nested Alternate Barcode

Creating Nested Alternate Barcode

To create nested barcodes for various packs of a certain product, select the main product on the Product definition screen and click into Nested Alternate Barcode tab.

Now in Barcode column enter whatever barcode you want to assign to a certain pack, enter quantity in the pack in Qty column, add price and description for each pack, and save.

There is no limit to the number of nested products that you can create for any item. In the figure below we have created three different packs of the master product ‘egg.’

All Packs defined on this screen will appear as separate products on the sales and return screen with their respective barcodes and can be scanned individually

Using a Loader File for Nested Barcode

You can also prepare loader files of nested products of various items and load them in one go. Loader files have to be prepared according to the format given on Utilities>Product Utilities>Nested Barcode Loader. The same screen is used to load the file:

Printing Alternate Nested Barcodes

Candela allows you to generate and print nested barcodes to use them on the products.

All you have to do is this: Go to Utilities>Product Utilities>Selected Barcode Generator, select the Line item, select main product, mark the check box Nested Products, and click Generate Report. All nested products of the selected item will load in the grid.

Now click Generate Barcode button to print barcodes:

Selling Nested Products

All Nested products will be listed in the product code help. You can select/scan and sell them.

When you sell nested products, the sales receipts will show these products by their names. For example, if egg is your main product and you have defined its different packs as nested products and given them different names, the sales receipt will show names of the nested products. This will help your customers see what exactly they have purchased.

Setting customer type based prices for Nested Barcodes

Go to Configuration>Misc>Customer Type Based Product Prices. On the screen click into Customer’s Type Based Nested Product Prices tab, select Customer Type, click Generate button and from product help field select the master product. All Nested products will load in the grid.

Enter new price against each nested product and Save.

Concluding Note

Nested Alternate Barcode feature is designed to make retail super easy for businesses who sell certain products in various packs. Being able to create barcodes for various packs of a same product and also sell them individually is hugely convenient.

Have you used the Nested Alternate Barcode feature? What type of products do you use it for? You can share your thoughts in the comment section below.